Top-ranked Roger Federer eased past Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Hamburg Masters, a tournament he has won four times. Nieminen had never won a set in eight previous matches against Federer and was the perfect opponent for the Swiss star to bounce back from a surprise loss last week at the Rome Masters. No. 3 Novak Djokovic also easily reached the third round but second-ranked Rafael Nadal had to work harder. Djokovic, seeking consecutive titles after winning last week's Rome Masters, swept aside Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-1 and had 34 winners against Chela's 11. Nadal survived a scare in the second set before overcoming Potito Starace 6-4, 7-6 (6). Djokovic is threatening to surpass Nadal as the second-ranked player on the ATP tour, and could move ahead next week. Nadal has been No. 2 a record 147 consecutive weeks. Earlier, Janko Tipsarevic rallied to upset seventh-seeded James Blake 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Blake broke Tipsarevic's serve to win the first set, but the tenacious 33rd-ranked Tipsarevic got steadier in the second set and then broke Blake's serve for a 2-0 lead in the third. Nicolas Kiefer beat Slanislas Wawrinka 7-5, 7-5. Kiefer saved two set points in the second after dropping his serve, then tied the set at 5-5 and won on his second match point when Wawrinka's forehand hit the net. Ivo Karlovic upset the 13th-seeded 2006 Hamburg champion Tommy Robredo 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3). Also, two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin beat ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-4, 12th-seeded Juan Monaco defeated Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-1 and Albert Montanes ousted Jose Acasuso 7-6 (3), 6-3. In other matches, 11th-seeded Carlos Moya topped Olivier Rochus 7-5, 6-3, 11th-seeded Andy Murray overcame Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3 and No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Australian Open runner-up who rarely plays on clay, lost to Robin Soderling 6-2, 7-5. Qualifier upsets Ivanovic Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was upset by Bulgarian qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 Wednesday in the second round of the Italian Open. Ivanovic struggled with her consistency and serving and never seemed comfortable on the red clay at the Foro Italico. She committed 59 unforced errors to Pironkova's 26. The 64th-ranked Pironkova also beat Venus Williams at the 2006 Australian Open. Williams was also in action Wednesday, overcoming an early challenge from Samantha Stosur before beating the Australian player 6-4, 6-1. Number two seed Maria Sharapova was forced to struggle against Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova before finally sealing a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory that took 2hrs 50mins to complete. No. 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova, defending champion Jelena Jankovic and fifth-seeded Serena Williams advanced. Serena routed Alona Bondarenko 6-2, 6-0, Kuznetsova, last year's runner-up, routed Olga Govortsova 6-2, 6-0, and the fourth-seeded Jankovic beat Flavia Pennetta 6-1, 6-4 in the Italian's second match of the day. Another Italian, Sara Errani, upset No. 11 Agnes Szavay of Hungary 6-0, 6-3. Also, No. 6 Anna Chakvetadze defeated Kateryna Bondarenko 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-0; No. 8 Marion Bartoli edged Virginie Razzano 6-4, 7-5; and No. 10 Vera Zvonareva beat Iveta Benesova 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. In first-round play, Maria Kirilenko rallied to beat Nadia Petrova 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a match that began Tuesday but was stopped due to rain with Kirilenko ahead 2-1 in the third set. In another match that began Tuesday, Ekaterina Makarova upset 13th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Also, ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder eliminated Ukrainian qualifier Mariya Koryttseva 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Flavia Pennetta ousted lucky loser Olga Savchuk 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-1. In other second-round action, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska rallied past Italian wild card Roberta Vinci 3-6, 6-2, 6
